Electric shaver

ABSTRACT

Electric shaver provided with at least one cutter unit, a drive unit for driving said at least one cutter unit and a display device for displaying information, wherein said drive unit, when being active, is operable in different operation modes, wherein a mode input element is provided for switching the drive unit into different operation modes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an electric shaver comprising at leastone cutter unit, a drive unit for driving said at least one cutter unitand a display device for displaying information, wherein said driveunit, when being active, is operable in different operation modes,wherein a mode input element is provided for switching the drive unitinto different operation modes. The present invention also relates to amethod for controlling such electric shaver. The present inventionfurther relates to a multipurpose personal care appliance to whichdifferent types of tooling elements such as a long-hair cutter, ashort-hair cutter and a skincare unit can be attached.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Electric shavers usually have one or more cutter elements driven by anelectric drive unit in an oscillating manner where the cutter elementsreciprocate under a shearfoil, wherein such cutter elements orundercutters may have an elongated shape and may reciprocate along theirlongitudinal axis. Other types of electric shavers use rotatory cutterelements which may be driven in an oscillating or a continuous manner.Said electric drive unit may include an electric motor or anelectric-type linear motor, wherein the drive unit may include a drivetrain having elements such as an elongated drive transmitter fortransmitting the driving motion of the motor to the cutter element,wherein the motor may be received within the handle portion of theshaver or in the alternative, in the shaver head thereof.

Such drive units are sometimes operable in different operation modes,wherein, for example, the cutter speed or oscillation frequency may bevaried to increase shaving efficiency in a fast mode or highspeed mode,whereas power consumption may be reduced in a slow mode or low speedmode. Depending on the fittings of the shaver, other operation modes maybe offered and may include a long-hair cutting mode in which the driveunit, in addition to or in the alternative to driving the at least onecutter unit, may drive a long hair cutter, or a fluid application modein which a lubricating applicator such as a spray nozzle may beactivated, or a ventilating mode in which a ventilator may be driven bythe drive unit to generate airflow to achieve cooling or cleaning.

So as to give a user the option to choose between those differentoperation modes, the shaver may be provided with a mode input elementsuch as a touch button, a toggle switch or a gesture sensor to allow theuser to input a respective mode command switching the shaver's driveunit and/or a control unit into the desired operation mode. For example,document US 2015/0246454 A shows an electric shaver operable in morethan one operating mode, wherein a mode input element is provided forswitching the driving unit into different operation modes. Sometimesswitching between different operation modes may be effectedautomatically, for example, the aforementioned low speed mode may bechosen automatically when the battery charging level becomes low.

In order to give the user feedback regarding which operation mode hasbeen selected, such shavers may have a display device for displayinginformation about such operation mode. For example, the selected cutterspeed may be indicated, or the activation of functional accessories suchas the aforementioned fluid applicator or airflow generator may bedisplayed.

In addition or in the alternative to displaying such information on theoperation mode, other information may be displayed by such displaydevices. For example, the charging status of a battery or accumulator ofthe shaver may be indicated, or the shaving time may be displayed,wherein such additional information also may be displayed when theshaver or the drive unit thereof is inactive. For example, it has beensuggested to extend the activity of the display to a period of someseconds after switching off the shaver so that, for example, the batterycharge level is indicated for some seconds after switching off theshaver and thereafter, fading out to the idle mode in which noinformation is displayed. Document WO 98/25736 A suggests to displaycertain shaver information on the shaver's charging/cleaning stationwhich is provided with a display for displaying such data andcommunicates with the shaver for receiving user data from the shaver. Italso has been suggested that the sleeping display can be waked up whenthe power button of the shaver is briefly touched.

Sometimes such shavers may be provided with additional personal caretools such as a skin treatment unit or a long-hair cutter unit or abeard trimmer. Such skin treatment units may comprise, for example,tooling elements such as a peeling tool, a massage brush or vibrationelements for enhancing blood circulation. Such skincare tools can befixedly or releasably attached to the head portion of the device. Forexample, document WO 2009/027928 A discloses a personal care appliancehaving a head provided with coupling means for coupling different typesof tools with the drive transmitter, such tools including a vibratingsafety razor, a hair trimming device and a comb attachment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an objective underlying the present invention to provide for animproved electric shaver avoiding at least one of the disadvantages ofthe prior art and/or further developing the existing solutions. A moreparticular objective underlying the invention is to provide for animproved displaying of information to the user.

A further objective underlying the invention is to provide for animproved control of information to be displayed to the user withoutsacrificing easy handling of the shaver. More particularly, aself-explaining, intuitive handling and use of the information functionsof the shaver should be achieved.

A still further objective underlying the invention is to provide for animproved multipurpose personal care appliance offering improvedoperation of various tool elements such as a short-hair cutter, along-hair cutter or a skin treatment unit.

To achieve at least one of the aforementioned objectives, it issuggested to give the user the option to perceive different sets ofinformation even when the shaver is switched off and/or the shaver'sdrive unit is inactive. More particularly, the electric shaver isconfigured to allow the user to select a specific one of a plurality ofdifferent sets of information. According to a first aspect, differentfunctions are assigned to the electric shaver's mode input element independency of the electric shaver being switched on or switched off.When the electric shaver is switched on and/or the shaver's drive unitis active, said mode input element is configured to switch the drivingunit into different operation modes, whereas, when the electric shaveris switched off and/or the shaver's drive unit is inactive, said modeinput element is configured to switch the display device into differentdisplay modes for displaying different sets of information. Such doublefunction of the mode input element allows for a natural, intuitivehandling of the shaver as a user knowing the input element may be usedto change the drive unit's operation modes when the shaver is switchedon, naturally will use such mode input element to change the displaymodes of the display device when the shaver is inactive or switched off.In addition, due to such double function of the mode inputelement noadditional button or key is necessary to switch the display modes andthus, space can be saved and an easy structure of the shaver's inputelement can be maintained.

According to a further aspect, the shaver's display device may beprovided with an automatic switching mode in which different sets ofinformation are displayed automatically one after the other undercontrol of a timer. Such automatic switching mode keeps the userinformed of any relevant information and, in addition, makes the userlearn to know the shaver's different information functions and differentsets of information.

Such automatic switching mode of the display device may be activated inresponse to presence of a parameter indicative of the user beingattentive and receptive and/or in response to a parameter indicative ofa certain operational phase or status of the electric shaver. Inparticular, said automatic switching mode may be activated when theelectric shaver is switched off and/or the drive unit becomes inactive.In the alternative or in addition, the automatic switching mode of thedisplay device may be activated when the sleeping shaver is touched oran object such as a finger or a hand is approaching the sleeping shaver.

These and other advantages become more apparent from the followingdescription giving reference to the drawings and possible examples.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1: a perspective view of an electric shaver comprising a handle anda shaver head connected thereto, wherein a display device of the shaverincludes a display on the handle,

FIG. 2: a schematic view of the shaver's display in different displaymodes, illustrating the display's transition when the shaver is turnedon,

FIG. 3: a schematic view of the shavers' display in further differentdisplay modes to further illustrate the display devices automaticswitching mode, wherein a transition of the display is shown when theshaver's drive unit is switched off,

FIG. 4: a schematic view of the shaver's display in still furtherdisplay modes to further illustrate the automatic switching mode of thedisplay device, wherein a transition between two further display modesis shown after having switched off the shaver's drive unit,

FIG. 5: a schematic view of the shaver's display and the shaver's modeinput element, wherein use of such mode input element is illustratedwhen the shaver is switched off, wherein different display modes of thedisplay as selected by the mode input element are illustrated,

FIG. 6: a schematic view of the shaver's display in further differentdisplay modes as selected by the mode input element when the shaver'sdrive unit is inactive.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The electric shaver offers comfortable ways of communicating relevantinformation to the user, wherein according to one aspect the useractively may select the relevant information from a plurality of sets ofinformation offered to be displayed. According to another aspect, theshaver may automatically display different sets of information to theuser at a convenient point of time once a user is attentive and ready toperceive such information.

More particularly, according to a first aspect, the mode input elementwhich is configured to switch the active shaver into different operationmodes, is also configured to switch the display device into differentdisplay modes for displaying different sets of information when thedrive unit is inactive and/or the shaver is sleeping. Thus, the modeinput element is given a second function in addition to its genuinefunction of controlling the operation mode of the active shaver.

When the shaver is active and/or the drive unit is switched on, the modeinput element may control the drive unit to operate either in a lowerspeed mode in which the cutter unit is driven at a lower speed and/or ata lower oscillation frequency, or in a highspeed mode in which thecutter unit is driven at a higher speed and/or at a higher oscillationfrequency. Intermediate speed modes providing for cutter speeds and/orcutter oscillation frequencies between the aforementioned high speedsand low speeds also may be provided and switched on by the mode inputelement.

In addition to such speed control function, the input mode element alsomay be configured to control other grooming functions of the shaver. Forexample, the mode input element may activate a long-hair cutter to bedriven by the drive unit. In addition or in the alternative to suchlong-hair cutting mode, the mode input element also may switch theshaver to operate in a short-hair shaving mode in which only theaforementioned at least one cutting unit is operated, wherein thelong-hair cutter is switched into its inactive state. Other groomingfunctions such as applying lubricating and/or cooling fluid onto theskin, or blowing cooling/cleaning air onto the skin and/or onto theshaver head may be available, wherein the mode input element may beconfigured to activate the applicator providing for such function suchas a fluid applicator and/or an airflow generator.

In addition to such control of the operation modes, the mode inputelement may be configured to switch the display device of the shaverinto different display modes to display different sets of information.In particular, so as to be able to offer different sets of information,the shaver may be provided with a plurality of detectors for detectingrespective information and/or parameters indicative of such information.For example, the display device may be connected to a charging leveldetector for detecting the charging level of an accumulator or batteryof the shaver. A corresponding charge level signal provided by thecharging level detector may be stored in a memory to which the displaydevice has access and/or may be provided online to the display device.When the mode input element is used to switch to a charging leveldisplay mode, the mode input element may interact with the displaydevice and/or a display controller thereof and/or said memory so as tomake the display device to display the information on the charging levelon the basis of the charging level signal of the detector.

In addition to or in the alternative, a shaving time and/or shaving rundetector may be provided for detecting the shaving time and/or thenumber of shaving runs performed since a last cleaning run. The shavingtime signal and/or shaving run signal provided by the detector may bestored in a memory to which the display device has access and/or may beprovided directly to the display device, wherein the mode input elementmay be configured to switch the display device into a shaving timeand/or shaving run display mode in which the display device and/or adisplay controller thereof effects displaying of a shaving timeinformation and/or shaving run information on a display.

In addition or in the alternative, a cleaning status detector may detectthe cleaning status of the shaver, wherein such detector may detect, forexample, the time expired since a last cleaning cycle and/or the amountof hair dust residing in the shaver head and/or any other parameterindicative of the cleaning status. Again, such cleaning signal providedby the cleaning detector may be stored in a memory to which the displaydevice has access and/or may be provided directly to the display deviceand/or a display controller thereof when the mode input element switchesthe display device into a cleaning status display mode so that thecorresponding cleaning information is displayed.

In addition to or in the alternative, there may be also a wear detectorfor detecting wear and tear of the cutter unit, wherein such weardetector may detect the number of shaving runs since the lastreplacement of the cutter unit and/or the frictional resistance of thecutter unit when oscillating, i.e. the oscillation resistance and/ordriving power necessary to drive the cutter unit, and/or any otherparameter indicative of wear and tear of the cutter unit. The wearsignal of such wear detector may be stored in a memory and/or directlyprovided to the display device when the display device and/or a displaycontroller thereof is caused by the input mode element to display a wearinformation on the basis of such wear signal.

Said mode input element may include a touch key or touch button whichmay be realized as a mechanical button or as a soft key in terms of, forexample, a touch screen button so that the mode input element may beactivated by pressing or touching the touch key. Such touch key or touchbutton may be configured to provide for a switch forward and switchbackward function so that it is possible to switch from a first mode toa second mode and from a second mode to a first mode. For example, thetouch key may be configured to differentiate between one click and twoclicks as it is known from a computer mouse. Touching the key only oncemay, for example, provide for the aforementioned forward switching,whereas touching the key twice within a predetermined time may providefor the backward switching.

In addition or in the alternative to such touch key, the mode inputelement may include a gesture detector for detecting a finger gesturesuch as a finger wiping so as to allow for browsing through the variousdisplay modes by finger gestures. Such gesture detector also may beconfigured to provide for a forward switching and backward switching,wherein, for example, the direction of the finger wiping may be used todifferentiate between backward and forward switching, wherein forexample finger movements from left to right may be associated withforward switching whereas movements from the right to the left mayprovide for backward switching.

According to a further aspect, the mode input element may include atoggle switch button for toggling from one operation to anotheroperation mode of the drive unit and toggling from one display mode toanother display mode of the display device. If there are three or moreoperation modes or three or more display modes, toggling can be effectedin a sort of circular fashion so that activating the toggle switchbutton a plurality of times effects switching from mode one to mode twoto mode three to mode n and, when the last mode n is reached, furtheractivation of the toggle switch button may cause switching from mode nto mode one again. In addition or in the alternative, such toggle switchbutton may be configured to provide for forward switching and backwardswitching as explained before.

According to a still further aspect, the mode input element may includea signal receiver and/or may be configured to be responsive to areceived signal so as to switch the display modes and/or the motoroperation modes and/or other functional operation modes in response to areceived signal. Such mode switching signal may come from variouselectronic circuits and/or devices. In particular, the mode switchelement may be responsive to a signal coming from an external devicesuch as the shaver charging and/or cleaning station or an electroniccommunication device such as a smartphone, a tablet or a laptop, thusallowing control of the display modes and/or motor operation modesand/or other functional operation modes by means of an external device.

The mode switch element also may receive a signal from a configurationdetector detecting the configuration of the shaver and/or skincaredevice, wherein such configuration detector may detect, for example, theposition and/or connection of a long-hair cutter, a beard trimmer and/ora skin treatment unit such as a brush or peeling device. If for example,a peeling device is attached to the shaver head and/or moved into anactive position, the mode switch element may switch the motor into acorresponding skin treatment mode to drive such skin treatment unitappropriately and/or may switch the display into a skin treatmentdisplay mode indicating relevant information about skin treatment.

The aforementioned mode input element may include a software moduleand/or a hardware module responsive to and/or processing such mode inputsignals and/or mode switching signals. More particularly, a microcontroller may be provided for receiving the aforementioned signals andcontrolling the drive unit's motor and/or the display device in suchdifferent modes in response to the received signals, wherein such microcontroller may include the aforementioned software and/or hardwareelements.

The function associated with the mode input element may be determined indifferent ways or on the basis of different parameters. For example, theactivation status of the drive unit, for example power consumption ofthe motor of the drive unit may be used as parameter on the basis ofwhich the function of the mode input element may be determined. Forexample, a detector may detect when the drive unit is active andworking, wherein on the basis of a corresponding signal from suchdetector, the mode input element may be configured to switch theaforementioned operation modes of the shaver. On the other hand, whenthe detector does not provide such signal or provides for an inactivesignal indicating the drive unit is not working and/or the shaver hasbeen switched off, the mode button may be configured to switch thedisplay modes. Thus, the mode input element may be responsive to adetector signal indicative of the shaver being active or sleeping and/orindicative of the drive unit being switched on or switched off.

In addition to or in the alternative to the mode input element beingresponsive to the working/sleeping status of the drive unit or theshaver, a shifting element can be provided for shifting the function ofthe mode input element from being configured to switch the operatingmodes to being configured to switch the displaying modes. Such shiftingelement gives the user the option to actively change the functions ofthe mode input element irrespective of the working/sleeping status ofthe shaver and could include, for example, a touch key or touch button.It also would be possible that the shifting element and/or shiftingfunction is integrated into the mode input element in terms of, forexample, a detector for detecting activation time of the mode inputelement. For example, a brief, normal touching or clicking of the modeinput element can be interpreted as a command for switching theoperation mode or the display mode depending on the working/sleepingstatus of the shaver, whereas on the other hand, a longer touching ofthe mode input element exceeding a predetermined period of time, forexample three seconds, could be interpreted as a command for shiftingthe function of the mode input element. For example, when the shaver isactive and the drive unit works, pressing the mode input element formore than three seconds could be interpreted as a command for shiftinginto the display mode function allowing to shift the display modes ofthe display device.

According to a further aspect of the invention, the display device isconfigured to be operable in an automatic switching mode in whichdifferent sets of information are displayed one after the other undercontrol of a timer so that each of the available sets of information oreach of a predetermined subgroup of the available sets of information isdisplayed for a predetermined period of time one after the other on adisplay.

Such automatic switching mode of the display device can be activated indifferent ways and may form an aspect of a shaver which does not haveand does not need the aforementioned mode input element, butnevertheless may have such mode input element. According to a furtheraspect, activation is effected at a point of time where the user isattentive and, under normal circumstances, may perceive theautomatically displayed information. For example, an activator mayactivate the automatic switching mode in response to a switching offsignal indicating switching off the drive unit and/or indicatingtransition of the drive unit from being active to being inactive, and/orin response to a switch on signal indicating switching on the drive unitand/or indicating transition of the drive unit from being inactive tobeing active.

In the alternative or in addition, said automatic switching mode may beactivated one an object such as a finger or a hand touches the sleepingshaver and/or approaches the sleeping shaver. To detect such approach,the shaver, in particular the shaver handle may be provided with adetector or sensor device capable of detecting an object such as afinger or a hand approaching the shaver. Such detector may include atouch sensor and/or an opticle sensor or any other sensor capable ofdetecting a finger in its neighborhood.

The display device may include a display on the shaver handle, whereinsuch display may include, for example, an LED display device or othersuitable display types.

In order to achieve a space-saving display arrangement, the displaydevice may include at least one display field which is used fordisplaying information relative to the operation modes as well asinformation relative to other aspects of the shaver such as theaforementioned charging level, shaving time, cleaning status or wear andtear status. For example, such display field may be configured todisplay pictograms such as a cascade or row of display points or LEDs.

In addition or in the alternative to a display provided on the electricshaver itself, a display may be provided on a cleaning and/or loadingstation configured to receive and/or be connected to the electric shaverso as to charge the shaver's battery and/or clean the shaver, wherein afluid may be applied to the shaver head to clean the shaver. Suchcleaning and/or charging station may include a display device configuredto communicate with the electric shaver at least when the shaver isdocked into the station so as to display the aforementioned information.The display at the cleaning and/or charging station may be controlled bymeans of the shaver's mode input element and/or in the aforementionedautomatic switching mode automatically switching from one display modeto another display mode.

The display device of the cleaning and/or charging station may becontrolled from the shaver and/or by means of input elements at thestation itself. To allow for control of the station's display from theshaver, the shaver and the station may be provided with datacommunication interfaces which may include physical connection elementsthat can be brought into contact with each other when the shaver isdocked into the station, and/or wireless communication elements such asbluetooth or other nearfield communication interfaces.

According to a further aspect, the electric shaver may provide forautomatic indication of the shaver head's dirt status. Cut hair or otherdebris such as dust or dirt is usually accumulated within the interiorspace of the shaver head below the shaver head's cutter unit. From timeto time, such interior space of the shaver head needs to be cleaned. Toremind the user of cleaning when it is necessary or to automaticallycontrol and/or initiate such cleaning, the shaver may be provided with adirt measurement unit measuring at least one parameter that is relatedto the dirt status and/or the amount of dirt accumulated in the shaverhead.

For example, said measurement unit may measure relevant parameters suchas shaving time and/or shaving resistance and/or frictional resistanceof a cutter element and/or power consumption of the drive unit duringshaving and/or contact pressure (as users tend to increase contactpressure when shaving performance decreases) and/or electrical signalsof sensor elements such as electric resistance sensors responsive tohair/dust coating or optical sensors, or other parameters indicative ofdebris in the shaver head.

A micro controller may analyze such measured parameters to determine thedirt status of the shaver head and may cause an indicating means to givea user an indication signal or information about the dirt status whichmay be, for example, displayed on the aforementioned display device. Inaddition or in the alternative, the micro controller may provide asignal to the cleaning station to automatically initiate a cleaningcycle in response to the determined dirt status and/or a signal to asmart phone to display the dirt status there.

These and other features become more apparent from the example showingin the drawings. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the shaver 1 may have ashaver housing forming a handle 2 for holding the shaver, which handlemay have different shapes such as—roughly speaking—a substantiallycylindrical shape or box shape or bone shape allowing for economicallygrabbing the shaver.

On one end of the shaver 2, a shaver head 3 is attached to the handle,wherein the shaver head 3 may be slewably supported about one or moreslewing axes.

The shaver head 3 includes at least one cutter unit 4 which may includea cutter element or undercutter reciprocating under a shearfoil. Theshaver head 3 may also include a long hair cutter 8 as it is shown byFIG. 1.

So as to drive such cutter unit 4 and the long hair cutter 8, a driveunit 5 may include a motor that can be received within the handle 2 andcan be connected to the cutter unit 4 and the long hair cutter 8 bymeans of a transmitter or drive train extending from the motor to thecutter unit.

As can be seen from FIG. 1, an ON-OFF switch or power switch 17 may bearranged at the handle 2, for example on a front side of said handle 2.By means of such power switch 17, the drive unit 5 may be started andswitched off again.

As can be seen from FIGS. 2 to 6, the shaver 1 further includes adisplay 18 which may be provided on the handle 2, for example on a frontside thereof. Such display 18 may be part of a display device 6 furtherincluding additional electronic components or other elements such as adisplay controller 11, a memory, power supply components etcetera.

The display 18 may include a first display field 18 a comprising an LEDcascade and a second or further display field 18 b where symbols and/orpictograms indicative of the type of information to be displayed can beshown and displayed, cf. FIGS. 3 and 4.

As can be seen from FIG. 5, the shaver 1 may further include a modeinput element 7 in terms of, for example, a touch button 16 which may bepositioned in the neighborhood of the power switch 17.

As illustrated by the figures, the display device 6 may work in anautomatic mode and in addition, in a manually controlled mode. Forexample, when starting the shaver 1 by touching the power switch 17, thedisplay 18 may show a cascade of light signals so as to indicate thatthe shaver is wakening up. For example, after starting with only onelight blinking or lighting, the number of the lighting LEDs may beincreased one by one until all LED of the cascade are lightening.

After such initialization procedure or in the alternative thereto, thedisplay 18 may display the battery level, wherein the number of thecascade bars lightening may correspond to the battery level, cf. FIG. 2.

As can be seen from FIG. 3, the display 18 may continue to display thebattery level for a predetermined period of time after the shaver hasbeen switched off. For example, the battery status may be shownautomatically for three seconds, cf. FIG. 3 right side.

According to an aspect, the display 18, after switching off the shaver,does not only show the charging level, but automatically switches intoother display modes to display other sets of information. Such automaticswitching mode of the display device 6 may have been activated by anactivator 10 in response to a parameter indicating switching off theshaver. Such activator may be responsive to a detector signal or aparameter indicative of switching off the shaver.

In addition or in the alternative, the automatic switching mode of thedisplay device 6 also may be activated by said activator 10 in responseto a parameter indicating approximation of an object or subject to theshaver 1, in particular a finger or a hand portion approaching ortouching the shaver 1. Thus, the activator 10 may be configured toresponsive, when the shaver is sleeping, to a detector signal of anapproximation detector or contact sensor 19.

As can be seen from FIG. 4, due to such automatic switching mode, thedisplay 18 may display, after having displayed the charging level, thecleaning status, cf. FIG. 4 left side and thereafter, the cutter unit'sstatus, cf. FIG. 4 right side. Such automatic switching of the displaymodes may be effected under time control of a timer 9.

As can be seen from FIGS. 3 to 4, the display 18 may indicate in itssecond display field 18 b the type of information displayed, wherein arespective information type symbol such as a battery, cleaning fluiddrops or a foil cassette symbol or other pictograms may be shown.

As can be seen from FIGS. 5 and 6, the display modes of display device 6also can be switched manually by means of using the aforementioned modeinput element 7 which, in its genuine function may be use to switch theoperation modes of the active shaver such as cutting speed, oscillationfrequency etcetera. When the shaver is sleeping and/or has been switchedoff, the display also may go into a sleeping mode, cf. FIG. 5 left side.When activating or touching the mode input element 7, the display iswakening up and first may show the battery charging level, cf. FIG. 5right side.

By means of touching or activating the mode input element 7 once againor further times, the display device 6 is caused to switch into otherdisplay modes to display other sets of information such as the cleaningstatus, cf. FIG. 6 left side and the cutter unit status, cf. FIG. 6right side.

As can be seen from FIG. 3, the shaver 1 further may be provided with adirt measurement unit 20 for measuring parameters relevant to the dirtstatus, wherein such measurement unit 20 may include a voltage and/orcurrent detector for detecting power consumption of the drive unitduring shaving and/or a time measurement means for measuring shavingtime, for example.

A micro controller 21 may receive signals indicative of such parametersand may analyze such signals to determine the dirt status, whereinindicating means 22 such as the described display device 6 may becontrolled by the micro controller 21 to indicate to a user the dirtstatus. In addition or in the alternative, such dirt status informationmay be communicated to a charging and/or cleaning station toautomatically initiate a cleaning cycle in response to the dirt status.

The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood asbeing strictly limited to the exact numerical values recited. Instead,unless otherwise specified, each such dimension is intended to mean boththe recited value and a functionally equivalent range surrounding thatvalue. For example, a dimension disclosed as “40 mm” is intended to mean“about 40 mm.

Every document cited herein, including any cross referenced or relatedpatent or application and any patent application or patent to which thisapplication claims priority or benefit thereof, is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety unless expressly excluded orotherwise limited. The citation of any document is not an admission thatit is prior art with respect to any invention disclosed or claimedherein or that it alone, or in any combination with any other referenceor references, teaches, suggests or discloses any such invention.Further, to the extent that any meaning or definition of a term in thisdocument conflicts with any meaning or definition of the same term in adocument incorporated by reference, the meaning or definition assignedto that term in this document shall govern.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have beenillustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in theart that various other changes and modifications can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is thereforeintended to cover in the appended claims all such changes andmodifications that are within the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electric shaver, comprising at least one shorthair cutter unit, a drive unit comprising a motor for driving said atleast one short hair cutter unit, an ON-OFF switch for activating anddeactivating the drive unit and a display device for displaying shaverinformation, wherein said drive unit, when active, is operable in morethan one operation mode comprising at least first and second speedmodes, where the short hair cutter unit is driven at a first speed inthe first speed mode and at a second speed different from the firstspeed in the second speed mode, wherein a mode input element comprisingone of a touch button, a toggle switch, a gesture detector or a touchkey is provided for switching the drive unit into one of the first orsecond speed modes when the drive unit is active causing the short haircutter unit to be driven at one of the first speed or the second speed,wherein said mode input element switches the display device intodifferent display modes when the drive unit is inactive such that whensaid mode input element is activated a first time with the drive unitinactive, first shaver information is caused to be displayed on thedisplay device and when said mode input element is activated a secondtime after the first time with the drive unit inactive, second shaverinformation is caused to be displayed on the display device.
 2. Theelectric shaver according to claim 1, wherein the first informationcomprises battery status information and the second informationcomprises one of a shaving time and shaving runs information, cleaninginformation or cutter unit wear information.
 3. The electric shaveraccording to claim 1, wherein said mode input element when activated athird time after the second time with the drive unit inactive causesthird shaver information to be displayed on the display device.
 4. Theelectric shaver according to claim 1, wherein said mode input element isfurther capable of activating a long-hair cutter.
 5. The electric shaveraccording to claim 1, wherein said mode input element is configured tobe responsive to a signal received from at least one of the following:an external control device, a smartphone, a shaver charging and/orcleaning station, a mode input button, a power ON/OFF button, a shaverand skincare configuration detection unit for detecting the type ofattachment attached to the shaver's handle, a wake up sensing unit fordetecting a waking up situation, and a timer.
 6. The electric shaveraccording to claim 1, wherein said mode input element functionalitychanges depending from an ON/OFF status of the drive unit.
 7. Theelectric shaver according to claim 1, wherein said operation modes ofthe drive unit include at least one of the following: a lower speed modein which said cutter unit is driven at a lower speed, a higher speedmode in which said cutter unit is driven at a higher speed, a long-haircutting mode in which a long-hair cutter is driven by said drive unit, ashort-hair shaving mode in which only said at least one cutting unit isdriven by said drive unit, a brush attachment mode in which a skintreatment unit attachable to the electric shaver is driven by said driveunit, or a beard trimmer attachment mode in which a beard trimmer unitis driven by said drive unit.
 8. The electric shaver according to claim1, wherein said different display modes include at least one of thefollowing: a charge information mode in which the charging status of anaccumulator is displayed, a shaving time and shaving runs informationmode in which the shaving time and the number of shaving runs performedsince a last cleaning run is displayed, a cleaning information mode inwhich a cleaning status of the shaver is displayed, or a cutter unitwear information mode in which wear of the cutter unit is displayed. 9.The electric shaver according to claim 1, wherein said display device isconfigured to be operable in an automatic switching mode in whichdifferent sets of information are displayed one after the other undercontrol of a timer.
 10. The electric shaver according to claim 9,wherein an activator is provided for activating said automatic switchingmode, wherein said activator is responsive to a switching off-signalindicating switching off the drive unit and indicating transition of thedrive unit from being active to being inactive, and responsive to aswitching on-signal indicating switching on the drive unit andindicating transition of the drive unit from being inactive to beingactive.
 11. The electric shaver according to claim 9, wherein a detectoris provided for detecting objects or subjects touching and/orapproximating the shaver, wherein an activator is provided foractivating said automatic switching mode, wherein said activator isconfigured to be responsive, when said shaver is sleeping, to atouching/approximation signal of said detector to activate the automaticswitching mode when an object or subject is touching and approximatingthe shaver.
 12. The electric shaver according to claim 1, wherein saiddisplay device is under control of an electronic controller which isconnected to at least one detector for providing at least one detectorsignal indicative of an information to be displayed, wherein saidcontroller is responsive to a signal from said mode input element todisplay said information on the basis of the received detector signalindicative of said information when said mode input element has beenactivated to request displaying of said information.
 13. The electricshaver according to claim 1, wherein said display device includes afirst display field indicative of a value and an amount of aninformation, and a second display field indicative of the type ofinformation, wherein said display device is configured to activate andoperate said first display field in combination with different types ofinformation displayed by said second information field.
 14. The electricshaver according to claim 1, wherein said display device includes adisplay arranged at a handle of the shaver and is configured to controland communicate with an external display separate from said handle. 15.The electric shaver according to the preamble of claim 1, wherein saidat least one cutter unit includes an undercutter and an uppercuttermoveable relative to each other in order to cut hair between saidundercutter and uppercutter, wherein said cutter unit forms a part of ashaver head having an interior space in which such cut hair or otherdebris or dirt is accumulated, wherein a dirt measurement unit isprovided for measuring a parameter that is related to the accumulateddirt, wherein a micro controller is configured to receive a signal fromsaid dirt measurement unit and to calculate a dirt status of the shaverhead in response to said received signal, wherein an indicating means isprovided for indicating information relating to the dirt status of theshaver head to a user.
 16. The electric shaver according to claim 15,wherein said dirt measurement unit is configured to measure at least oneof the following parameters: shaving time, shaving resistance, shavingpower consumption of the drive unit during shaving time, cleaning time,cleaning liquid or moisture inside the shaver head, and wherein theindicating means includes at least one of the following: the displaydevice, a sound generator, a signal generator for generating acommunication signal to be communicated to an external electronicdevice.
 17. A personal care appliance comprising a handle, a headincluding at least one personal care tool for effecting a personal caretreatment, a drive unit comprising a motor for driving said at least onepersonal care tool and a display device for displaying personal careinformation, wherein said drive unit, when active, is operable in morethan one operation mode comprising at least first and second speedmodes, where the personal care tool is driven at a first speed in thefirst speed mode and at a second speed different from the first speed inthe second speed mode, wherein a mode input element comprising one of atouch button, a toggle switch, a gesture detector or a touch keyswitches the driving unit into one of the first or second speed modeswhen the drive unit is active, characterized in that said mode inputelement is configured to switch the display device into differentdisplay modes for displaying personal care appliance information whensaid drive unit is inactive.
 18. The personal care appliance accordingto claim 17, wherein said handle is provided with an ON/OFF powerbutton, the motor drives a moveable tool element in the head via a drivetransmitter, wherein said head is provided with at least one couplingmeans for coupling different types of tool elements with the drivetransmitter, said tool elements comprising at least two of the followingtool elements: a skincare unit, a long-hair cutting unit, abeard-trimming unit, a brush, and a short hair cutting unit.
 19. Amethod for controlling an electric shaver, said shaver comprising atleast one cutter unit and a drive unit comprising a drive motor fordriving said at least one cutter unit, wherein said drive unit, whenactive, is operable in more than one operation mode comprising at leastfirst and second speed modes, where the cutter unit is driven at a firstspeed in the first speed mode and at a second speed different from thefirst speed in the second speed mode, the method comprising: switchingthe drive unit into one of the first or second speed modes causing thecutter unit to be driven at one of the first speed or the second speedby activating a mode input element when the shaver and the drive unit isactive, switching the display device into different display modes byactivating said mode input element when the drive unit is inactive. 20.The method according to claim 19, wherein the shaver further comprisesan ON-OFF switch for activating and deactivating the drive unit, whereinthe ON-Off switch is separate from the mode input element.